The present invention relates generally to fishing devices. More particularly, the invention concerns a novel fishing lure or weight that is adapted to generate hydrodynamic lift when drawn through a body of water.
In many fishing applications, it is desirable to have a fishing lure or weight that is designed to rise when drawn through a body of water. For example, one use of such a device is as a fishing weight. Because the weight rises toward the surface of the body of water when reeled in by the user, it (and any adjacent hook structure) is much less likely to become snagged or otherwise caught upon objects beneath the surface of the water, such as rocks, reeds, fallen trees, etc.
Another use of such a device is in spin-casting and related applications, where a lure is cast a desired distance away from the user and then immediately reeled in, in attempts to have a fish strike the moving lure as it is drawn across or near the surface of the water. In such applications, it is necessary for the lure to have sufficient weight to be able to cast a desired distance away from the user, but the weight also should be light enough to remain near the surface of the water as it is reeled in.
It should be understood that these are generally competing interests. For example, as weight is added to a lure, it is able to be cast further away from the user, but also is more likely to sink as it is reeled in. On the other hand, as weight is removed from the lure, it is less likely to sink as it is reeled in, however, it also tends to be more difficult to cast a desired distance away from the user. These competing demands are even harder to meet when the user wants to slowly reel in or retrieve the lure.
Examples of rising fishing weights are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,605,577 and 2,986,838 to Waugler and Smyser, respectively; the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Both Waugler and Smyser disclose fishing weights having at least one pair of wings extending from an elongate body with a bore extending along the long axis thereof. A length of fishing line is passed through the bore, where it is connected to a fishing hook rearward of the weight and a rod and reel assembly forward of the weight. In all embodiments disclosed, the hook and weight are free to pivot, twist and otherwise bend or move with respect to each other. Furthermore, both Waugler and Smyser require a counterbore at the rearward portion of the weight into which a counterweight must be added to maintain the wings in their proper operating orientation when the weight is used in a body of water.
Both of these patents generally address the problem of developing a weight that rises in a body of water when drawn through the water, however, neither provide a particularly effective solution to the problem. Both include a hook assembly that is pivotal with respect to the weight, and therefore which causes instability to the path of the weight as it is drawn through a body of water. This defeats the rising fiction of the weight because the instability or imbalance of the weight and adjacent lure, hook, bait, etc. causes the weight to tip or turn in the water. Because the weight is biased to move in the water in the direction that the weight's top surface faces, it will move sideways or even downward, depending on the current orientation of the weight with respect to the top surface of the water.
Furthermore, both weights require the use of a counterweight to maintain the device in a proper operative position, and without such counterweight would not operate as intended. Adding a separately manufactured counterweight increases the time and labor, and thus expense, to manufacture the weight. Furthermore, the separate counterweight also increases the time and effort for a user to attach the weight and counterweight to a fishing line. It is understood, of course, that the longer it takes to get ready to fish, the less time the user can actually be fishing.
Briefly stated, the invented fishing device provides a novel rising fishing device that is not hindered by the drawbacks of prior rising fishing devices. The device includes a rise-inducing structure that includes an elongate body and a pair of wings extending from the body to define a wing plane that is disposed at an angle with respect to the body to create hydrodynamic lift when drawn through a body of water. The device preferably further includes a hook assembly extending rearward of the body at a defined angle with respect to the wing plane, and a coupling that extends forward of body and is adapted to be joined to a length of fishing line. In another embodiment, the invented rising fishing device is adapted to be what may be referred to as "buzz bait," in that it includes a frame with a first branch that is joined to the rise-inducing structure described above and a second branch spaced-apart from the first branch on which a spinner-or propeller-structure is rotatably mounted.
Other features and embodiments of the present invention will become more fully apparent as the following detailed description is read with reference to the below-described drawings.